Grip handle chuck



R. G. HUNT June 17, 1969 GRIP, HANDLE CHUCK Filed Sept. 15, 1967INVENTOR. ROSE/2T G. HUNT '47 7 Foam/ Y5 US. Cl. l104.3

3,449,782 GRIP HANDLE CHUCK Robert G. Hunt, Los Angeles, Calif.,assignor to Lawrence F. Irwin, Sally J. Irwin Trust, doing business asMarco Products Company, Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Sept. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 667,946 Int. Cl. F28g 3/00; 1823b 5/34;F16d 45/00 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The application disclosesa handle and lever-operated chuck means for a plumbers tool having amotor-driven storage housing for a flexible plumbers snake which passesthrough the chuck means.

The invention has to do generally with plumbers tools of the typeemploying a helically wound spring pipe cleaning member, known as aplumbers snake, and more particularly with improved means in such toolsfor gripping the snake so that it can be power-rotated and manipulated.

The invention is an improvement upon the tool disclosed in US. PatentNo. 2,769,191, issued Nov. 6, 1956.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved means forgripping a snake in a device for housing and rotating a plumbers snake.A difiiculty heretofore experienced with portable devices of this typewhich have a handheld motor at one end of the storage casing and a chuckmeans at the other-end through which the snake passes, is that themanual operation of the chuck means tends to place an undue load on themotor. Therefore, unless the operator is extremely careful and exertsonly the minimum pressure required to effectively cause the chuck toengage the snake, the motor is overloaded as a result of axial pressureplaced upon the housing in the operation of the chuck operating means.

It is therefore another object of the invention to provide a novel andimproved construction which overcomes the serious disadvantages of priorconstructions and which obviates overloading or placing undue strainupon the mo tor during operation of the chuck to grip the snake. Moreparticularly it is anj'pbject. to provide a chuck operating means whichcan be operated with one hand 'by a squeezing action on a part of thechuck housing and an actuating lever.

Another object is to provide a device of the type indicated which can beeasily operated by applying only moderate squeezing pressure with thehand.

Still another object is to provide an adjustable lever means embodying ascrew, readily turnable with the fingers, which serves to adjust themeans to accommodate different-sized snakes and also to adjust the meansso that the combined handle and lever means fits the operators hand.

A further object is to provide a screw which acts as part of aball-and-socket means upon which the lever is pivoed as well as anadjustable fulcrum for the lever and which further serves to releasablysecure the lever in place as part of the over-all assembly.

Still another object is to provide means for reducing wear on thebearings through the provision of a spindle cap and seal means whichserves to protect the bearings against the dirt, grime, and moisturewhich normally are a problem with this type of tool.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawing and thefollowing description. Referring to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a device embodying the invention;

3,449,782 Patented June 17, 1969 ice FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional viewthrough the forward end of the housing and the chuck means, but on alarger scale and showing the parts in a normal position;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view in the same plane as FIG. 2, butshowing the parts with the chuck contracted about the snake; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

More particularly describing the invention, numeral 11 generallydesignates a housing of the over-all tool in which a plumbers snake 12is stored in coiled relation, the snake being shown as an elongatedhelically wound spring member. The housing 11 is mounted on an electricmotor 14 in any suitable manner so that it can be rotated relatively tothe motor casing when the motor is operated.

The snake extends from the casing through a tubular neck 15 whichprojects axially thereof from the side opposite the motor. While thesnake might rotate with the housing 11 due to friction between thehousing and the coils of the snake therein, since the snake meetsconsiderable resistance as it is fed through a clogged waste pipeline orthe like, I provide means to grip the snake so that it will be lockedwith the casing and rotate therewith without danger of slipping, andsuch means will now be described.

The tubular extension or neck 15 of the housing 11 is provided with acylindrical spindle 16 which is secured thereto, as by means of pins 17.The spindle therefore is in efi'ect a further extension of the housing.The spindle is received within a chuck body housing 18 which comprises acylindrical body section 20 having an internal flange 21 at its outerend, and inwardly of this a counter bore 22 which accommodates a mainthrust bearing 23.

A spindle cap 25 is received in the body and has a large cylindricalsection 26 which fits in a counterbore 27, and a section 28 of reduceddiameter which projects through the bearing 23 and the bore opening 29in the end of the body. A groove 30 in flange 21 accommodates an outerseal ring 32 and a second seal ring 33 is received in a groove 34 of thespindle cap and bears against the outer surface of the spindle.

Within the spindle cap is a chuck collet 36 which may be formed of aresilient body 37 provided with steel jaw inserts 38. The collet isfrusto-conical in shape and is partially received within the beveledinner surface of the outer end of spindle 16. Normally the parts are asshown in FIG. 2 with the collet out of engagement with the snake, but itwill be apparent that upon relative movement of the parts such that thespindle is moved toward the collet, the latter will be compressed intoengagement with the snake, as shown in FIG. '4.

For the purpose of moving the parts, I provide a manually operable lever40 and an associated rigid handle member 42 which may be squeezed tocause the collet to engage the snake. To accomplish this, I provide aradial thrust bearing 43 between the chuck body and the spindle andpreferably form the race 44 for the balls 45 within the peripheralsurface of the spindle. The handle 42 comprises a rigid or integralsection of the chuck body housing which extends generally radially fromthe cylindrical section 20, and preferably is formed as a deep channelsection with side walls 46 connected by a rear wall 47 so that thechannel space 48 is open at the front. The lever is partially receivedwithin the handle and comprises an outer section 49 and an inner section50. The latter is formed with a semicircular recess 51 so that it fitshalfway around the spindle.

One of the features of the invention is the fact that the lever 40 isadjustably and releasably mounted by means of a single screw 52 formedwith a ball-like inner end 52' that is received in a socket 53 formed inthe lever.

A spring 54 about the shank of the screw serves to releasably hold it inadjusted position, the screw being re ceived in a threaded bore 55 inwall 47 of handle 42. Screw 52, in conjunction with lever 40, alsoserves to retain the chuck body housing 18, bearing 23, spindle cap 25,and chuck collet 36 on the spindle 16.

In using the device, the handle holds the pistol-grip portion of motor14 in one hand and operates the trigger switch at will. When the motoroperates the casing 11 including its tubular extension 15 and spindle 16rotate. In order to positively grip the snake 12 and insure itsrotation, the operator grips the handle 42 and lever 40, moving lever 40into or toward handle 42, and thus causing the inner end 50 of the leverto cause relative movement between the spindle and the chuck collet 36,thereby causing the collet to engage the snake, as shown in FIGS. 4 and5.

I claim:

'1. In a plumbers snake tool or the like, a housing in which a'plumberssnake can be coiled, said housing having an opening at one side for thepassage of the snake, a tubular spindle projecting from the housingaxially of the opening, a tubular chuck body housing surrounding saidspindle, a main thrust bearing mounted in the outer end of said chuckbody beyond the end of said spindle, a collet chuck between said bearingand said spindle, said spindle and collet chuck having interengagingwedge faces whereby to contract said chuck upon movement of said bearingand spindle relatively toward each other, a radial thrust bearing onsaid spindle within said chuck body housing and spaced axially inward ofsaid main thrust bearing, a manually operable lever pivotally carried bysaid chuck body housing and having its inner end engageable with theinner end of said radial thrust bearing, said lever when pivoted in onedirection serving to urge said spindle axially toward said chuck andsaid main thrust bearing.

2. The device set forth in claim 1 in which said chuck housing body isprovided with a rigid handle, and in which said lever has an outer endportion adjacent said handle whereby the same can be operated bysqueezing said handle and lever in the hand.

3. The device set forth in claim 2 in which said handle receives andpartially houses said lever.

4. The device set forth in claim 1 in which said chuck body housing hasan opening through which the lever extends and in which said lever issupported on a balland-socket means in the region of said opening.

5. The device set forth in claim 4 in which said ball and-socket meanscomprises a screw mounted in said chuck body housing terminating in aball end received in a socket in said lever.

6. In a plumbers snake tool or the like, a housing in which a plumberssnake can be coiled, said housing having an opening at one side for thepassage of the snake, a tubular spindle projecting from the housingaxially of the opening, a tubular chuck body housing surrounding saidspindle, a main thrust bearing mounted in the outer end of said chuckbody beyond the end of said spindle, a collet chuck between said bearingand said spindle, said spindle and collet chuck having interengagingwedge faces whereby to contract said chuck upon relative movement ofsaid bearing and spindle toward each other, a radial thrust bearing onsaid spindle within said chuck body housing and spaced axially inward ofsaid thrust bearing, said chuck body housing having an openingintermediate its ends in the region of said radial thrust bearing, ahandle formed as a part of said chuck body housing and extendingradially thereof in the region of said opening, said handle beingchannel-shaped in cross section and open on its edge facing the outerend of said chuck body housing and with the open interior of the handleopen to the said opening, a manually operable lever extending throughsaid opening with its inner end engageable with the inner end of saidradial thrust bearing and its outer end extending out through saidhandle and projecting forwardly thereof, and means pivotally mountingsaid lever in the region of said opening.

7. The tool set forth in claim 6 in which means pivotally mounting saidlever comprises a screw mounted in said chuck body housing terminatingin a ball end received in a socket in said lever.

8. In a plumbers snake tool or the like, a housing in which a plumberssnake can be coiled, said housing having an opening at one side for thepassage of the snake, a tubular spindle projecting from the housingaxially of the opening, a tubular chuck body housing surrounding saidspindle and having a lever-receiving opening intermediate its ends,chuck means in said chuck body housing through which the snake extends,a lever in said opening having its inner end Within said chuck body andits outer end exteriorly thereof, and an adjustable, removable pivotalmeans carried by said chuck body housing for said lever, said leverbeing operably associated with said chuck to contract the same uponoperation of the lever.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,769,191 11/1956 Hunt et al.15-104.3

EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 27974

